Madison County v. Union County Preview

Two traditional Class 1R powerhouses are set to face off Friday in a playoff showdown as the second round for high school football is underway in Florida, with Madison County traveling to Union County.

Madison

The Madison County Cowboys may not have as great of a record this year, as they sit at 4-6, but they are still a solid football team. The reigning state champs have played a brutal schedule in order to get ready for the playoffs. They have played no shortage of bigger schools such as Godby, Columbia and Suwannee. They actually beat Godby, who is a whole classification above them, 35-6 early in the year. First year head coach Price Harris came over from Dunnellon where he established them as a perennial playoff team.

The Cowboys have been hot lately, as they have won two in a row. Their first round win last week over Fort White came easy in blow out fashion, 36-0. They are lead by Jamie Hampton who is averaging 95 yards a game on the ground. There is no doubt they are ready for the challenge at Union Friday.

Union

Head coach Andrew Thomas has won state titles before at this level at Trenton, and he has the Tigers on the right track this year. Their only losses have come to University Christian and Hawthorne. Their 6-2 regular season record earned the Tigers a first round bye. Thomas said he knows no playoff wins in the state of Florida are easy, especially after the first round. He said he has a ton of respect for this week’s opponent.

The Tigers look to be a hard nose football team, and they have proved that throughout the year. Rayvon Durant is averaging nearly 150 on the ground per contest. Quarterback AJ Cortese also adds over 60 yards on the ground providing a super strong rushing attack. The team is battle tested and ready for what it hopes will be the first of several playoff showdowns.

Game Details

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Lake Butler.